VMware Workstation 5.5

Restoring a Snapshot: Revert or Go To?

You can restore a snapshot in VMware Workstation by using the Revert and Go to commands. The following sections explain how these commands work.

The Parent Snapshot

The parent snapshot of a virtual machine is the snapshot on which the current state (the You Are Here position) is based. After you take a snapshot, that stored state  the parent snapshot of the current state  is the parent snapshot of the virtual machine. If you revert or go to an earlier snapshot, the earlier snapshot becomes the parent snapshot of the virtual machine.

Revert to Snapshot

Revert is essentially a shortcut for Go to the parent snapshot of the virtual machine  that is, the parent snapshot of the You Are Here position. Revert immediately activates the parent snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine. The current disk and memory states are discarded, and the virtual machine reverts to the disk and memory states of the parent snapshot.

To Revert to the parent snapshot, choose VM > Snapshot > Revert to Snapshot, or click the revert button on the toolbar.

Go to Snapshot

This command activates the snapshot currently selected in the snapshot manager. Unlike Revert, the Go To command is not limited to the parent snapshot of the current state. You can choose any snapshot.

To go to a snapshot, choose VM > Snapshot and select the snapshot by name; or, in the snapshot manager, select a snapshot and click Go To.

Reverting at Power Off

This setting causes the virtual machine to revert automatically to the parent snapshot any time it is powered off. The parent snapshot of a virtual machine is the snapshot on which the current state (the You Are Here position) is based (see The Parent Snapshot).